Colorado University Athletics
No. 24 Colorado Heads To Kansas State; Hosts Texas A&M
UP NEXT: No. 24 Colorado (14-8, 10-7 Big 12) will head to Manhattan, Kan. for a match against Kansas State (17-9, 8-8 Big 12) on Wed., Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. MT. The Buffs come home for their final home match against Texas A&M (12-12, 5-10 Big 12) on Sat., Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. It will be senior night as Nicole Carr, Allie Griffin, Kelly Masumiya and Lynsey Mann play in their final home-match as a Buff.
COLORADO MOVES UP TO 24: Colorado has moved up to 24th in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. Last week the Buffs earned their first ranking of the season at 25 and received votes for three weeks prior to being ranked.
The 24th-place ranking is the best for CU since the Buffs were ranked 23 in Sept. 2002.
The Big 12 Conference has five teams that are either listed in the top 25 or are receiving votes.
ON THE SEASON: Colorado is 14-8 overall and is 10-7 in the Big 12. CU is currently fourth in the Big 12 and is ranked at 24 in the national poll.
The Buffs are 8-2 in their last 10 matches. Texas just ended a seven-match win streak for the Buffs on Nov. 9, but CU rebounded with a sweep of Baylor on Nov. 12.
CU has defeated three ranked teams in its last eight matches; with two of those wins coming on the road. CU took two consecutive matches against ranked opponents for the first time since 1996 when the Buffs stunned Kansas State and Texas A&M on Oct. 12 and 16.
The first of the two consecutive wins against ranked teams came against No. 20 Kansas State. It was the first win over a ranked opponent this season for Colorado as the Buffs beat the Wildcats 30-14, 30-25, 25-30, 28-30, 15-5. CU followed it up with a win at 24th-ranked Texas A&M. The Buffs rallied back from a 0-2 deficit and won 20-30, 25-30, 30-26, 30-28, 15-10.
ColoradoGÇÖs most recent victory against a ranked team came on Oct. 29 as the Buffs shocked eighth-ranked Missouri 20-30, 30-28, 23-30, 30-27, 15-12 in Columbia, Mo. CU played in front of 2,571, the fourth largest crowd in MU history.
Five of ColoradoGÇÖs losses have come to CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 ranked opponents. CUGÇÖs first loss of the season came at the hands of third-rated and defending national champion Stanford. The Buffs fell in four to 18th-ranked Texas in Austin on Sept. 14 and then again on Nov. 9 in five when UT was ranked 11 and CU was 25. Colorado came back home to face its second and third consecutive ranked opponents in top-ranked Nebraska and eighth-ranked Missouri. CU fell in three to both opponents.
Senior right side hitter Allie Griffin is averaging 4.85 kills per game while hitting .300 on the year. She ranks second in the Big 12 in kills and is 11th in hitting percentage. Griffin has hit more than 20 kills in nine matches this season; including a career-high 29 against Kansas State on Oct. 12. She notched her 1,000th-career kill with her first kill in the fifth game against Kansas on Oct. 1. Sophomore Amber Sutherland is averaging 3.67 per game. Sutherland ranks ninth in the league in kills. ColoradoGÇÖs 15.90 kills per game is fourth in the Big 12.
Freshman middle blocker Lauren Schaefer leads the Buffs with 76 total blocks (10 solo and 66 assists) on the season. She is averaging 0.94 blocks per game. Junior middle blocker Lara Bossow has four block solos and 67 assists on the season. The Buffs are averaging 2.32 blocks per game and are 10th in the Big 12.
Junior setter Ashley NuGÇÖu has passed out 1,153 assists this season to average 13.25 per game. She currently ranks third in the Big 12 and leads Colorado to a .258 attack percentage that ranks fourth in the league.
The BuffaloesGÇÖ defense is led by senior Nicole Carr. Carr has picked up 236 digs (2.71 per game) this season and has played five games as the teamGÇÖs libero. Carr notched her 1,000th-career dig on Oct. 1 versus Kansas. Sutherland is second with 235 digs (2.73 per game). Sophomore libero Therese Vinal has collected 181. The Buffs are eighth in the Big 12 with 13.60 digs per game.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Kansas State is 17-9 overall and is 8-8 in the Big 12. The Wildcats are receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. They are hitting .228 in the conference and hold their opponents to a .209 attack percentage. K-State is led by Agata Rezende. She averages 3.73 kills per game and hits .292. Rezende adds 1.00 digs and 0.90 blocks per game. Stacey Speigelberg has dished out 12.38 assists per game and Angie Lastra leads the team with 4.04 digs per game.
ABOUT THE AGGIES: Texas A&M is 12-12 overall and is 5-10 in the Big 12. The Aggies are led by senior All-American Laura Jones. Jones leads the Big 12 with 6.65 points and 5.95 kills per game while hitting .264. Christi Hahn is the team blocks leader with 74 (0.84 per game) and hits at a .291 clip. Holly Clay is digging 4.18 balls per game for the Aggies.
SERIES RECORDS: Colorado is 23-15 against Kansas State and have won two in the last five meetings. Both of the wins for the Buffs have been while K-State has been ranked in the top-25.
Texas A&M owns a 14-6 advantage over CU in the series. Colorado has won two of its last five contests against the Aggies, including a win at College Station.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME: The last time the Buffs faces K-State and Texas A&M, both teams were ranked and CU recorded two five-game upsets.
On Oct. 12, at the Coors Events Center, CU dropped then-20th-ranked K-State 30-14, 30-25, 25-30, 28-30, 15-5. Allie Griffin recorded a career-high 29 kills. Lara Bossow was errorless with 16 kills on 23 attempts to hit .696. Amber Sutherland picked up a double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs.
Colorado took to College Station, Texas, on Oct. 16 and rallied back from a 0-2 deficit to knock off then-24th-ranked Texas A&M 20-30, 25-30, 30-26, 30-28, 15-10. Griffin hammered another 21 kills and added 14 digs and five block assists. Sutherland added another double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs. Bossow and Nicole Carr notched 13 and 11 kills, respectively.
Griffin was named the Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week for her performances in the matches. She was also featured in Sports Illustrated last week in the Faces In the Crowd section for those performances.
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